Room Dividers Conquer Space

We all know that Reagan told Gorbachov to "tear down that wall," which was a good idea back then because it was that wall in Berlin. Yet sometimes putting up a wall makes good sense.

Like when you have a loft with oodles of square footage and you need to make the place cozier and more like a "normal" apartment with defined areas.

Or when you have a "normal" apartment with a space that just isn't working anymore -- because the baby has arrived, your office is now in a corner of the bedroom, or your brother is visiting again from out of town.
One solution is to just build a wall (but do get the landlord's permission first and consult an architect so the ceiling doesn't fall down). Or you can align a few tall IKEA bookcases to block the view. Or go Japanese with a Shoji screen, a time-honored way to make you believe your studio is bigger than it really is.

Luckily for us, designers have been thinking about walls and how to make them not look anything like walls. We're talking about modular partitions and wavy forms made of recyclable materials, and dividers that are cheap and green -- all good alternatives to the permanence of drywall and particleboard, and great options with which to reimagine your space.

6PHOTOS

A Room Divided

See Gallery

Room Dividers Conquer Space

Somewhat conventional divider wall of lightweight aluminum gets cooler with customized panels - made of wood or translucent panels, or fabric - in a checkerboard pattern.

For this limited edition (read: pricey) screen, British designers laminated rye straw and sandwiched the wispy strands in resin and acrylic panels for a beautiful leaves of grass visual.

Slats are hot this year, like these in the three tall Mahogany panels that and let in light and separate a room with a minimalist look.

Cheap and green, this DIY screen concept by Evan Gant (via apartmenttherapy.com)is formed from used, standard sized carpet samples, which also muffle sound.